Evaluating students’ perceptions of the usefulness of podcasts

Objectives: To compare pharmacy students’ confidence in understanding course material before and after listening to course podcasts; (2) determine whether course content affects pharmacy students’ perceptions on podcasts’ usefulness; and (3) evaluate English First Language vs. English Second Language speakers’ attitudes on podcasts. Methods: First and second year pharmacy students (n=314) who attended a Clinical or Research Methods course in 2012 and 2013 completed pre- and post-test surveys to assess study objectives. Results: Students had more confidence understanding course topics after listening to the podcasts (p<0.05). Significant differences were observed in clinical vs. non-clinical courses. The majority of students across courses agreed or strongly agreed that podcasts were a useful learning tool (91.2% and 92.3% Research and Clinical course, respectively) and promoted understanding of course material (89.3% and 93.9%). There were no statistically significant differences in perceptions among English First Language and English Second Language speakers (p>0.05). Conclusion: Podcasts are beneficial to a majority of pharmacy students, despite language barriers.